Ancient officials at all levels and their work

Because there are few official documents from Xia Dynasty to Qin Dynasty for more than 2,000 years, it is difficult to distinguish between true and false. For a long time, the study of official positions was either based entirely on Zhou or ignored. However, "Zhou Li" was written late, and its content was inconsistent with the bronze inscription. Many scholars believe that it is impossible to study the officials of the Western Zhou Dynasty completely according to this book. If ignored, the official position of this period is completely blank. Nowadays, Oracle Bone Inscriptions, bronze inscriptions and reliable documents are generally used to study the pre-Qin official system.

Xia and Shang dynasties

During the Xia and Shang Dynasties, the country was small in scale, simple in organization and without clear division of responsibilities.

During this period, the monarch of the country was called "Hou" or "Wang". The most powerful person under the king is Shi, also known as Wu. They are the communicators between God and the world, and God's will is conveyed to the monarch by them, and then carried out by the monarch. Many people in Oracle Bone Inscriptions have records of this kind of behavior.

Dali, who was in charge of calendar calculation and litigation, was an official of the Xia Dynasty. The position of witch history is generally hereditary. In addition, Wang's relatives and children often participate in the management of state affairs, but most of them have no clear titles. In the late Shang dynasty, some elders in the royal family were called "father teachers" and "",who were responsible for assisting and guiding the king, such as Bi Gan and so on.

During this period, the monarch also had some slaves who managed the housework, called ministers and butchers. At first, they were slaves. Because they are favored by the monarch, they sometimes participate in some political affairs.

Western Zhou Dynasty-Spring and Autumn Period

During this period, the supreme monarch of the country became "king", also known as "son of heaven" and "king of heaven". The throne is generally inherited by the eldest son (see patriarchal clan system), and the intended heir to the throne is called the prince. Wang's wife's name is Hou. In addition, the vassal's fief is called "country" and the doctor's fief is called "city". They are all subjects of the son of heaven. The royal institution is the central government, and the institutions of the governor and doctors are local governments. The military and political power is in the hands of the royal family and consorts, and the status of witch history is greatly reduced.

The greatest status and power below the king are Taishi, Taifu and Taibao (collectively known as the three fairs). When the king is young or absent, he can act as the king's power. During this period, a government department headed by Qing history was formed, and it was the highest chief executive. At the same time, it was in charge of military, administrative and diplomatic affairs, and generally it was held by two or three people.

After the Qing Dynasty, there was a clear division of responsibilities, and Si Tuleideng was in charge of land and labor; Sima is in charge of the military; Sikong is responsible for civil construction; Scott is in charge of punishment. Taishi's position is very high, juxtaposed with the officials of the three fairs and the Qing Dynasty, but his scope of authority is much smaller, mainly in charge of calendars, drafting government documents, recording state affairs and so on. The censor is in charge of archives, the divination is in charge of divination, the zongbo is in charge of etiquette and sacrifice, and the musician is in charge of music education. Item is a temporary position to coach the monarch's etiquette, which is generally held by princes, officials or celebrities.

The person in charge of the royal family affairs is called "Zai", the person in charge of the royal family's meals is called "Bei", the person in charge of the royal family's chariots and horses is called "servant", the person in charge of the palace guards and teaching martial arts is called "Shi", and the person guarding the palace door is called "samurai". In the Western Zhou Dynasty, eunuchs did odd jobs in the palace, which were called temple people.

The official position of the vassal is roughly the same as that of the royal family. The ruling Qing Dynasty was appointed by the Zhou Emperor, which was called "Qing" from generation to generation, but it could not be called "Qing history".

Warring States Period-Late Qing Dynasty

This period lasted more than 2300 years. The monarch has a high status and a high concentration of power. The status of witch history and clan declined, while the status of the monarch's servants and attendants rose. After the Qin Dynasty, the establishment of state institutions became more and more complicated, the division of responsibilities became more and more detailed, and the establishment of official positions was also very complicated.

Classification of official posts

The official system in China is very complicated and has changed a lot. Let's briefly introduce the evolution of various officials.

monarch

The monarch is the head of a country, the supreme ruler and the biggest official. Before the Warring States period, the monarch was called "Hou" or "Wang". Wang means supreme, representing heaven to rule the people, and is also called "the son of heaven" and "the king of heaven". After the Spring and Autumn Period, vassal states began to be kings. During the Warring States period, some vassal states even called themselves "emperors", but they didn't customize them. It was not until the establishment of the Qin Dynasty that Qin Shihuang began to use the title of emperor until the demise of the Qing Dynasty. Affected by this, the emperor's wife was called the queen, and the emperor's mother was called the empress dowager. In some ethnic minority regimes in history, the title of monarch is different, such as:

Khan (Xiongnu)

Kunmo (Wusun)

Houlou pavilion music (high car)

Khan (Xianbei, Uighur, Rouran, Turkic, Qidan, Mongolia)

Zambo (Tubo)

premier

The prime minister is the highest chief executive under the monarch, and all previous dynasties have different names, but they are just a general term. See the prime minister.

Head of central department

Since the Western Zhou Dynasty, government departments began to divide. The Western Zhou Dynasty was divided into six departments, and each department had its own chief officials: Situ, Sima, Sikong, Sikou, Daxie and Zongbo. After the reunification of the Qin dynasty, major adjustments were made, and the so-called "Nine Qing" was formed.

Jiuqing includes:

Fengchang (in charge of ancestral temple etiquette and calendar, medical treatment)

Langzhongling (court bodyguard, discussion)

Wei Wei (in charge of palace guards and tributes)

Too servant (in charge of the emperor's chariots and horses and the national horse administration)

Ding Wei (in charge of justice)

Dianke (managing ethnic minorities)

Zong Zheng (in charge of royal affairs)

Manage the internal history of Xiaomi (manage the national finance)

Shaofu (managing the emperor's finance and state affairs)

In addition, Jin Wu was in charge of the public security in Beijing, and the general was in charge of civil affairs, while Da Changqiu was in charge of the transmission of the Queen's will and the management of harem affairs. Together with Jiuqing, it is called "Twelve Qing".

After the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the central institutions were greatly adjusted, and the ministerial institutions developed rapidly. The Shangshutai in the Qin Dynasty only belonged to an institution below Shaofu. After Wei and Jin Dynasties, Shangshutai became independent from Shaofu, renamed Shangshu Province, and became the general agency of the central government to carry out government affairs. Shangshu province is divided into Cao Cao. The Sui and Tang Dynasties gradually evolved into six parts, which were used until the Qing Dynasty. Namely:

Examination of appointment and dismissal of ministers in the official department

The Ministry of Housing is responsible for land and finance throughout the country.

The Ministry of Rites is in charge of sacrifice, education and examination.

The Ministry of War is in charge of the military.

The Ministry of Justice is in charge of justice.

The Ministry of Industry is responsible for civil construction and transportation.

After the establishment of the six departments, Jiuqing's authority was greatly reduced.

officer

There was no military attache in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and officials were in charge of civil and military affairs. It was not until the Spring and Autumn Period that the State of Jin established the middle, upper and lower armed forces, and the national army appointed the army commander before setting up the military attache, but the generals of the three armed forces were still in charge of political affairs. After the Qin and Han Dynasties, the establishment of military attache can be roughly divided into:

General guarding the palace and the capital.

Wu Zhi is in charge of military and political affairs.

A general who leads an army in battle.

In the Western Han Dynasty, Tai Wei (later renamed Fu, and later changed back in the Eastern Han Dynasty) was in charge of the national military and political affairs. The military attaché s who fight in unison include generals and generals riding chariots. , and all kinds of miscellaneous generals. After Wei and Jin Dynasties, Fu, Qiu and General became empty posts and had no real power. The commander-in-chief is the supreme commander of the country.

The Western Wei and Northern Zhou Dynasties implemented the system of government soldiers. The whole country is divided into 100 counties, and each county is led by a general. The Sui Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty continued to implement the system of government soldiers. The Central Imperial Army has sixteen guards. The governor is in charge of military affairs in several States. After Tang Gaozong, the commander-in-chief was in charge of this festival, which was called our festival. After the mid-Tang Dynasty, the imperial military system was destroyed, and the central imperial army was composed of recruits, with ten armies. Among them, the Shence Army is the strongest, with a lieutenant and a central defender as the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Army. During the Tang Dynasty, there were marshals and deputy marshals as supreme commanders. Generally, the marshal is the royal family, and the deputy marshal is the minister. After the middle Tang Dynasty, eunuchs were used to supervise the army, which was called Jingshi Prison. There were also Wu Zhi in the Tang Dynasty, such as Guan Shi, Zheng Shi, Shi Shi, Yong Lian Shi, etc. Most of them were Chinese ambassadors, observers and secretariat officials.

After the Five Dynasties, there was a department in front of the temple, and the governor was the commander-in-chief of the imperial army. In the song dynasty, the regular army was called the imperial army. They are led by the division in front of the temple, the division of guards and soldiers, and the division of guards and soldiers. An officer who teaches martial arts is called a coach. The imperial dispatching power belongs to the Privy Council and is commanded by the emperor himself. In the Southern Song Dynasty, the imperial army ceased to exist, and the troops under the general's jurisdiction were incorporated and called the imperial army. When he sent troops, his general called it "the garrison in a certain state is under control."

The army guarding the capital in Liao Dynasty was called "Imperial Account Pro-Army", which was led by the Imperial Guards. The troops guarding the emperor are called "Palace Guards" and are under the command of Su Wei Division. The northern Privy Council is in charge of the Qidan military forces, while the southern Privy Council is in charge of the Han military forces. When fighting, there will be bailiffs from all over the world. The Jin emperor's army was led by the inspection department in front of the temple. In wartime, a marshal's office was set up under the command of Marshal Du. The guard of Genghis Khan in the Yuan Dynasty was called "fear of learning". The Privy Council is the highest military organ.

The Ming army practiced the guard-guarding system. The emperor's army was originally twelve guards, and later it was increased to twenty-six guards, and the Royal Guards was one of them.

The Qing army was divided into two systems: the Eight Banners and the green camp. Temporary conscripts are called Yong Army, such as Zeng Guofan's Xiang Army.

Supervisors and lecturers

One of the characteristics of ancient officials in China was the development of supervisors. Supervisors supervise officials at all levels. An admonition officer is to persuade the monarch to correct his fault. With the strengthening of the autocratic system, in the Qing Dynasty, supervisors and admonishers merged, collectively known as speaking officials.

The establishment of the state supervision began in the Warring States period, and was initially held by the imperial history. It was not until the end of the Western Han Dynasty that Shi Yu became the proper name of the prison state. And it was used until the Qing dynasty.

Although there was no full-time remonstrator in the Western Zhou Dynasty, officials or doctors all had the duty of remonstrator. In the early Spring and Autumn Period, a great remonstrance was launched in Qi Huangong, which was the beginning of remonstrance officer. There were remonstrators in Qin and Han dynasties, but there were no specialized institutions. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Menxia Province gradually became the main institution of remonstrating officials. After the Liao Dynasty, the remonstrating officials existed in name only, or even ceased to exist. In Ming and Qing dynasties, the nature of remonstrating officials was similar to that of supervising officials.

The monarch's secretary and literary attendant

A monarch's secretary is different from a historian. Mainly responsible for drafting the imperial edict, recording the words and deeds of the monarch, and compiling official books. The Shang Dynasty had many secretarial posts, such as Taishi and Neishi.

During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Imperial Scholar was the first minister. After Wei and Jin Dynasties, Zhongshu Province was in charge of secretarial work. Imperial academy was established in the Tang Dynasty, responsible for drafting imperial edicts and serving as a literary attendant. There is also a bachelor's college, which is the greatest courtesy of the monarch to the literati. The position of bachelor is often higher than that of prime minister.

Guan Xue

Academic officials, also known as instructors, refer to government-appointed officials and teachers in charge of education. In the Western Zhou Dynasty, there was a teacher who taught martial arts and was happy to teach poetry, books, rituals and music. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, there were doctors who taught Confucian classics. After the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there was imperial academy as an official school, with duties such as wine supply.

Court affairs officer

A court official refers to an official who serves the monarch and his family. It originated from the monarch's retainer. During the Warring States period, there was a Shaofu, which became one of the nine ministers in Qin and Han Dynasties. Among them, there are many official positions, all of which serve the monarch. After the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the palace affairs were changed to the province under the door. The Sui Dynasty changed its name to Temple Introspection, and the Tang Dynasty changed it to Temple Province. In the Ming dynasty, there was no institution to manage the state affairs, and the duties were shared by eunuchs and female officials. In the Qing Dynasty, the Ministry of Interior was in charge of court affairs.

Local governor

See chinese administrative division.

The Western Zhou Dynasty implemented the enfeoffment system, and local governors were divided into governors and doctors. After the reunification of Qin, counties with more than 10,000 households were called orders, and counties with less than 10,000 households were called chiefs. In the Han Dynasty, the county where the capital was located was divided into Jing Zhaoyin, Zuo Fengyi and You Fufeng, which were equivalent to the county satrap. In addition, when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty established 13 state, the governor was a secretariat. The governor of the state where the capital is located is called Captain Li Si.

In the Tang Dynasty, there were observers from all walks of life, and our envoys were local military and political officials. In Song Dynasty, county officials were called magistrate of a county, and prefecture-level officials were called magistrate.

The provincial officials in the Ming Dynasty were called the Political Affairs Department, and they all commanded the Military Affairs Department, and sentenced the provincial judges to be responsible for supervision. After the middle period, there was a governor who looked at the military and political affairs of a province. The Qing dynasty and the Ming dynasty are roughly the same.

Assistant officials, subordinate officials and small officials

Under the chief, there are a large number of assistant officials, subordinate officials and small officials, some of whom are similar to modern civil servants. Its setting is also very complicated, and different dynasties have different names. For example, the masters of the Qing dynasty were of this nature.

Honorary office

In the official system of ancient China, there were many complicated situations, such as adding officials, trying officials, conferring officials, adding posts, adding titles, and concurrently holding officials.

The rank of an official

In ancient China, there was a very strict hierarchy of official positions, which showed the following points:

Title: It depends on blood relationship and contribution, which can be passed down for a long time.

Hero: the title mainly used to reward meritorious personnel.

Product: it is a symbol to distinguish the rank of officials.

Official title: a title indicating the actual rank of an official.